And So It Goes
by mccabebabe
Summary: #3 in my 'And So' trilogy finds the team members gathering for a Halloween party.
1. Chapter 1

And So It Goes

A CM Fanfiction

A Halloween party brings the team members together

# 3 in the And So… trilogy

Reid/OFC (Samantha Reid), BAU team members & their families

K+

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_"Love is friendship that has caught fire. It is quiet understanding, mutual confidence, sharing and forgiving; it is loyalty through good and bad times. It settles for less than perfection and makes allowances for human weaknesses._" **\- Ann Landers**

Criminal Minds belongs to the Mark Gordon Company et al. I own nothing. No infringement intended.

Once again, my heartfelt thanks go out to task master and beta reader extraordinaire, Aut. As always, watching out for blatant errors, little mistakes and always offering encouragement and alternative wordings where needed. Thank you!

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A white rental van pulled up to the Guardhouse Gate at the FBI complex in Quantico. Frank Thompson, the guard on duty, left his little booth to speak to the driver. He muttered under his breath about deliveries coming at unauthorised times and then pasted a smile on his face. As he approached, the driver, who was wearing the uniform whites of a catering company, exited his vehicle. He was waving papers in his hand, and indicated that they go to the van's rear cargo doors.

"Bill of lading," he explained, handing the papers to Frank and then waved at the back, "I imagine you'll wanna inspect the cargo. I'm here to fill the vending machines in the canteen. Regular truck's in the shop. Damn transmission died, wouldn't you know it," the man grumbled.

Frank uttered a sympathetic "That sucks, doesn't it? I just had to do the brakes on my Chevy. Damn cars cost so much to repair."

He waited, standing aside as Charlie—according to the embroidered name patch on his uniform and the ID tag hanging right below it—opened the door.

Strategically out of sight of the security booth camera, two men were hiding inside the back of the van. Charlie opened the door and stepped back as the two accomplices jumped Frank.

"What the—" died on his lips as they struck him and hauled him into the vehicle. Minutes later, Charlie reappeared with the one of the men, who was now dressed in the guard's uniform. He climbed back into the van's driver seat as his accomplice walked backwards to the booth. The guard shielded his face from the security camera he knew was positioned above the door. Once inside, he opened a drawer and removed several items and made his way back to the open window at the driver's side of the van. He handed the items to the man behind the wheel and then stood back and waved the van through towards the building that housed the FBI's working offices, including the Behavioural Analysis Unit. Once the van was out of sight, the man walked towards the parking garage that served the small office tower.

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Spencer Reid stepped off the elevator and made his way to the tech analyst's office. He quietly closed the door behind him and approached her desk. Penelope Garcia sat before the computer, typing away at the keyboard.

"Hey, Pen," he startled her as he placed a grotesquely carved pumpkin on the desk beside her and immediately apologised when she jumped out of her seat.

"Jinkies, Reid!" she patted her chest to self-soothe and shook a finger at him, "My blood pressure!"

"Sorry," he said, although he smiled brightly as he said it. Motioning to the Jack O'Lantern, he asked "Isn't it great?"

She glared at him for a moment, and then broke into a smile of her own. "Yes. Definitely creepy. So, did you talk to Samantha?"

"Penelope," he began, and then unnecessarily lowered his voice. Blushing, he whispered, "You _know _I practically live at her place now, right?" Without waiting for her answer, he confessed, "Yeah, I talked to Samantha."

She kept a poker face, ferreting that morsel of information away for later use and instead clarified her inquiry, "I meant about the party, Otherwise Smart Guy. Did you tell her about your costume?"

"No. That's between you and me, PG. Right?" A few days earlier, he'd enlisted Penelope's help in procuring the necessary makeup and garments for his proposed costume and was now reinforcing her adherence to secrecy.

"I promised!" she raised her hand as though swearing an oath, "I won't tell Samantha what you're coming as."

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"Our weekend went so well, thank you again for arranging for Spence to be off Monday, Agent Prentiss," Samantha exclaimed.

"He's still got a lot of time owing, Sam. If you happen to have any more plans for my agent," she said with a smirk, and then, more seriously, added, "And please. It's Emily."

Sam chuckled, "Okay. _Emily_. Will we see you at the Halloween party?"

"Oh absolutely. Doing my damndest to make sure the team doesn't end up going out of town on a case in the next forty-eight hours!"

"Spence is so excited. He loves—"

"Halloween. Don't we know it!" Emily laughed. "He's been crazy for Halloween since I've known him."

Sam laughed, "Spence won't tell me what his costume's gonna be this year. I'm still thinking about mine."

"Oh, Sam," Emily's face lit up. "Tara and I had a plan and we need a third. You in?" Emily described their idea and Sam was on board immediately. "That's fantastic," Emily enthused, "I'll text you later, okay? Gonna make an appointment with the costume shop."

"Halloween's tomorrow! You're gonna get an appointment _now?" _Samantha was astounded.

"I have connections," Emily purred, and laughing, confessed, "Garcia."

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Agent Grant Anderson parked his car in the lower level employee lot and made his way towards the elevator that would take him upstairs to the BAU offices. Chatting with his girlfriend on his cellphone, he didn't notice the security man lurking behind a pillar watching and listening to him.

"It'll be great, Julie, it's at the Devon House. You know, that beautiful old place out in Stafford County. Party was Reid's idea and you know Reid, he loves Halloween, I'm sure it'll be, um, spooktacular, But, the suits liked the idea and gave the go ahead. They even picked up some of the cost." He listened as she spoke and then replied, "That's a great idea, yeah. Okay. I'll call you when I'm done work. I'll have more information then," he told her as the elevator door opened and he climbed aboard.

The man moved from behind the pillar and walked over to the white van he'd parked alongside several other cars.

He waited until the elevator door closed behind Anderson and then he and his cohorts went into action. Jimmying open the trunk of Anderson's car, the three men quickly set their plan in motion. In less than a minute, two of the men were back in their van, and the third, the one dressed as a security guard, opened the door to the staircase to execute their next phase.

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"I totally did," Penelope was talking animatedly on the phone. "I have a friend who specialises in things like this, Sam. Just do the witch thing with Tara and Em until the kids go to bed. We'll find some excuse to—oh! I know—I'll need your help with my hair and makeup. That's what we'll tell them! Because I have an after-the-kids-have-gone-to-bed costume too!" She was giggling now, bubbling over with enthusiasm for the Halloween party and her energy was contagious.

On the other end of the phone call, Samantha was sitting at her desk at the university trying to tamp down her own excitement over the coming party. She looked across the office, stealing a glance at old Professor Simpson, the sixty-year-old tenured chief of the English Literature Department and suppressed her ebullience. The man took no notice of her.

"That sounds like a prudent course of action," she managed to say in the straightest voice possible.

"What? Samantha? Are you seri—" Garcia's brow furrowed and as realisation dawned on her, "Oh, you can't talk right now, can you?"

"That would be correct, ma'am."

Garcia laughed for both of them. "Reid will love it. I mean, he swore me to secrecy on his own costume, but he never said I couldn't take advantage of the knowledge."

"You are a master strategist," Sam complimented her friend.

Garcia laughed, "I'll hit you back later, when I have all the deets."

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	2. Chapter 2

"Garcia's gonna help us with our costumes and she's gonna be part of our little group," JJ told Reid as they sat at their desks, engrossed in paperwork. "Have you got your costume yet, Spence?" she asked.

He nodded, "I've been ready for days, JJ." He leaned forward as though he was about impart an important secret, and whispered, "Garcia set me up."

JJ's eyebrows rose at the unintentional double meaning. Earlier, she'd dropped by Garcia's office to ask something and overheard the tech analyst on the phone, "_And he has no idea, Samantha."_

The other team members were gathering around Reid's desk as he and JJ spoke. Tara Lewis, Matt Simmons and Luke Alvez arrived as JJ was commenting, "I'm sure we'll all look great. Emily said you've even got Rossi all involved," she noted with just a hint of disbelief in her voice.

"He's all over the catering," Reid told them. "I've got ideas about decorations. It's a grand old mansion, guys. Originally built by the Garrison family, it dates back to Colonial times and it's near Witches Pondin Aquia."

"Witches Pond," Lewis remarked. "Sounds appropriate."

Reid grew animated as he stepped into his element, relating a ghostly story: "Legend has it that a group of eighteenth century villagers put a witch to death in the woods near a cemetery by Aquia Creek. Afterwards, her body was thrown into the swampy pond. And the story goes that every spring, the water turns red. It came to be known as Witches Pond. Over the years, those who have attended the area have spoken of seeing the figure of a woman hovering just above the water or along the path that leads from the cemetery to the pond. There have been visitors saying they've heard the splashing sounds of what seems to be stones or a body being dropped into the pond. And there have been reports of repeated shrieks in the night, each one appearing to get closer than the previous."

The others smiled indulgently at Reid's affinity for ghost stories and then JJ eyed him seriously, "Don't you dare go telling Michael that story. He'll never sleep again!"

Simmons nodded, "Yeah, I don't need my kids hearing that either, Spencer. If it's all the same to you."

After sharing a chuckle, Reid asked the others, "You guys have your costumes yet?"

Lewis nodded while Alvez responded, "Lisa's working on it." He smiled, "It's a surprise."

Simmons raised an eyebrow. "You're a brave man."

Alvez laughed. "I trust her."

"I can't _wait_ to see it," Lewis remarked.

"We have a family theme with our costumes," Simmons told them.

"So do we," JJ added.

"I can't wait to see what you all come up with," Reid told them, his face reflecting his anticipation. His enthusiasm was infectious and the entire team got involved in the chatter.

Their conversation came to a halt when Emily appeared at the top of the stairs leading down to the bullpen.

"Uh, guys," Lewis whispered, trying to alert them to their supervisor's arrival.

"Are we talking about the party?" Emily laughed as the group all stood silently around.

"Have you got a costume yet?" Reid asked her.

She shared a look with Tara Lewis and nodded. "Oh, we're ready. Aren't we?"

Tara laughed and then Emily added, "Well I hate to be the big, bad boss, but we really do need to get some work done. Matt, JJ, if you'd go to the interview room, there's a detective from Albany, New York who came all the way down here for a consult." Simmons and Jareau nodded and left immediately. "Tara, I need to see you in my office. Luke, Spence, if you two would please finish these," she asked, handing them each a small pile of reports. "Director wants a cross reference done, and while we could probably do this on the computer, I thought maybe you could give them a finer going over, Spence. And Luke, he wants someone with a military eye to look over those ones."

"Sure thing, ma—uh, Boss," Luke complied.

Emily smiled at his self-correction. It seemed that gradually they were all remembering she _hated_ being called ma'am. "We have to get at least _some _work done before that party tomorrow."

The group dispersed to implement her instructions and Lewis followed Prentiss to her office. Shutting the door behind them, she asked, "You wanted to see me, Em?"

"It's set."

Lewis raised an eyebrow. Prentiss waved her cellphone,

"Garcia texted. It's all set up. We get to fulfill a lifelong ambition, Tara. You and me. And Samantha, we're gonna be the Weird Sisters."

"Oh," Tara smirked, "Well, I'm gonna have to go get my wart on, aren't I?"

"Relax, Tara. Garcia has it all under control for us. Reserved the costumes and the makeup for us. Our appointment with her friend is at 4 p.m. this afternoon for fittings. I figure we can take it all with us and get ready at the mansion."

"Oh, no, Emily."

"What?"

"It'd be much more fun to get dressed and made up _here _before we go, don't you think? Imagine the looks on people's faces when _MacBeth_'s witches come out of the BAU Unit Chief's office."

"You're awful. I love it. I'll see if Garcia can bring the stuff here in the morning then."

"Em, there's a couple of things I'd like to pick up for the party." As she began to relate her intention to Prentiss, Emily's eyes lit up.

"I love it! Let me help! I'll pay for half!"

Lewis insisted she'd take care of it herself and Emily capitulated, putting her hands up in mock defeat.

"All right, Tara. I give up. Go on; get what you need. But be back in time for us to go see Garcia's friend about our costumes!"

"I'll be back before four, I promise," she replied. "Oh! I need Reid, is that okay?" she asked and Emily laughed and nodded. Tara hurried out of Emily's office and approached the bullpen where Reid and Alvez were working at their desks. She tapped Reid on the shoulder and he rose immediately to join her.

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Tara and Spencer stepped off the elevator at the parking level and stopped short.

_Thump. Thump, thump, thump,_

"What the—?" They looked at each other. Lowering their voices, they concentrated for a moment, listening for the sounds. Lewis motioned towards her own car, moving as quietly as she could, she took a few steps in its direction, parked about ten vehicles down from the elevator. Reid followed closely behind.

_Thump, thump._

They exchanged a glance. Lewis motioned at the car parked beside her own. Reid nodded, indicating the trunk, pointing out wordlessly that the trunk was ajar. Lewis drew her gun; Reid took a step closer to the trunk, and then making eye contact with Lewis, counted down silently.

He grabbed the trunk lid and flung it open as Lewis brandished her weapon.

Inside was the frightened, beaten security guard. Reid recognised the man as Frank Thompson. His temple was bleeding, his mouth gagged and his hands and feet bound with zip ties. Tara pulled the gag from his mouth. Reid fished into a pocket for his penknife and cut the ties, and then they helped the shaken guard out of the trunk.

"What happened!?" Lewis asked him gently.

"They ambushed me," he sputtered. He shivered with cold, standing in just his underwear. "They took my uniform!" Reid slipped his suit jacket off and put it around Frank's shoulders.

He paused to throw a grateful glance in Reid's direction before continuing, "They grabbed me at the gatehouse, Agent Lewis. Guy in a rental van said he was here to fill the vending machines. Had ID. Had all the lading papers. He was so smooth, we were complaining about the cost of car repairs, completely hoodwinked me. There were two guys waiting in the back."

"Let's get you upstairs, Frank," Reid steered them towards the elevator.

"He took my creds! He's in my uniform. He could be anywhere in the building! We need to call an alarm."

"We will," Lewis promised, as Reid took out his phone and made the call. "But we need to get you looked at, Frank, you could have a concussion."

Despite being injured, Frank protested, speaking in an agitated tone. "He could be after someone. We gotta stop him." Frank wasn't about to be deterred from his duty and Lewis acknowledged him.

"Dr. Reid is calling it in right now, Frank. The Security Department will be on it in just a minute. Please calm down."

The elevator door opened and the trio boarded it, heading back upstairs. An alarm code was sounding throughout the building as they stepped off onto the fifth floor and joined the cluster of agents grouped around Armand Dussault, the Bureau's Director of Internal Security. Standing with him were two members of the medical team, who immediately took charge of Frank Thompson, seeing to his injuries.

"Frank!" Dussault touched his arm, "Are you all right?" He ushered Frank and the medics towards his office, nodding his thanks at Lewis and Reid. He motioned to Prentiss and several others to join him. Emily turned to her team members,

"I'll fill you in," she whispered, "Go ahead with your plans, Tara."

Lewis and Reid hesitated for just a moment before Prentiss reiterated, "Go. I got this." She disappeared down the hall with Frank, Dussault and the others.

All around the fifth floor, Security was doing a sweep looking for the imposter-Frank. They coordinated searches on the other floors of the building before going room to room and clearing the fifth level.

Lewis and Reid decided to help with the search of their own BAU level, the sixth floor. Opening the door to the staircase, they started up the stairs. The door shut behind them with a loud clang and both stopped in their tracks for just a moment. Reid, who trailed a step or two behind Lewis, reached out and touched her back. She turned to make eye contact and saw his fingers on his lips, indicating she should be quiet. He inclined his head, gesturing that he'd heard something from below. She pointed down the stairs and he nodded. Silently, they pivoted and started creeping silently down the staircase. Spencer, who was wearing sneakers, took the lead and Tara lagged behind so her heeled leather boots wouldn't make noise.

Three flights down, Reid came to an abrupt stop and Lewis nearly bumped into him.

He pointed down and hoping Lewis could read lips, mouthed, "Somebody's down there."


	3. Chapter 3

"What's going on?" Garcia stepped out of her office when she heard the security alarm ringing. Rossi and Alvez were just finishing a sweep of the bullpen and BAU offices and Rossi was now on his phone with Security. Alvez moved closer to Garcia to update her.

"Reid and Tara found Frank the security guard in the trunk of Anderson's car."

"Oh my God," Garcia's eyes grew wide. "Is he okay?" She paused for just a beat and asked "Oh my God, Anderson! Why would he—?"

"He didn't, Garcia. His car was just convenient. And he backs into the parking spot which is probably what the unsubs wanted. Anderson has nothing to do with this, except the damage to his car's trunk," Alvez assured her.

Garcia looked around the bullpen and gestured with her hand. "What's all this then, Luke?"

"They took the guard's uniform and creds, Penelope. Everyone is doing a Security sweep to find the imposter."

Prentiss returned from the meeting with Dussault and motioned for her team to join her in the conference room.

"Penelope, can you access all our security creds please and update them to the system?"

Garcia nodded, sat down and started working on her laptop keyboard. Prentiss turned to the others, "Security deleted access authorisations for all visitor badges. Agents Anderson and Davis discovered that several were missing from the gatehouse desk, and the logbook didn't indicate any were signed out. They reported to Dussault and he had Security change all the access codes."

"Done," Garcia turned and reported. "All BAU staff access and creds are updated." Rossi and Alvez acknowledged her as the door opened and Simmons and Jareau returned from their consult.

"Hey guys," JJ greeted them. Looking to Rossi and Alvez she asked, "Security's locked down all exits and access points. What the hell's going on?"

Rossi lowered his voice, "Security's looking for a guy who ambushed the guard at the gate this morning."

Emily's cellphone rang and she stepped away from the rest of the group to answer it. Rossi continued to update Simmons and Jareau as Emily returned.

"Security patrol just intercepted a white rental van coming out of the parking garage. Arrested two guys in the truck. They had the missing visitor badges, and weapons and C-4 charges," she shared. "Bomb squad's sweeping the building now. Frank was able to give them detailed descriptions of his attackers. He's gonna be okay, we're to stay in place while they search for the other guy. Suspect is wearing Frank's uniform and has Frank's credentials and gun."

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Reid motioned with his hand and slowly headed down the next flight of stairs. Lewis counted to ten and then followed. She watched as Spencer turned and started down the last staircase, gun drawn.

"FBI, DON'T MOVE!" he ordered as he took the unsub completely by surprise.

"Don't shoot! Don't shoot!" Tara could hear the cowering voice of the cornered man. Silence didn't matter anymore, and her boots clattered noisily as she hurried to join Spencer. The unsub, wearing Frank Thompson's uniform was on his knees, leaning against the concrete wall. He tossed his gun to the ground and raised his hands in surrender.

"Cuff him, Spence," she directed. "I'm covering," Lewis assured him as she pointed her gun at the prone man.

Spencer put away his gun and quickly handcuffed the man. Hauling him to his feet, Reid propelled him through the door Lewis had just opened. She was on her cell phone as Reid pushed their prisoner through the parking garage towards the elevator.

"We have him, Security. He was hiding in the D stairwell, we're now heading to the elevator."

She listened as Security briefed her while they made their way to the elevator. Its door opened and Reid shoved their captive into the lift. Lewis concluded her call as the door shut behind them and she touched the button for the fourth floor.

"They've found the van and arrested your two accomplices," she informed the prisoner and then told Reid, "Bomb squad's apparently sweeping the building now, they found C-4s on them. Security is waiting for us on the fourth floor."

Reid nodded as the elevator stopped at their destination and Security took custody of their captive. Dussault ordered everyone to clear the building.

"I guess that means we all might as well go out and get our party preparations done," Emily told her team as soon as everyone else had dispersed. "Frank mentioned three men but Security wants to clear the building anyway. Everyone will have to leave via the front entrance or the parking garage; the other access points are all disabled and secure. And the bomb squad is almost done."

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Tara pulled her car out of the parking spot and headed down the highway towards Devon House. They'd made several stops at different shops and were now set. The back seat of her sporty coupe was filled with Halloween decorations, some of which spilled over to the front seat encroaching on the space occupied by Spencer. He laughed as a glow-in-the-dark skeleton arm swatted at his face and he worked to wrangle the intruder back into the rear seat. Lewis laughed at his efforts.

"Maybe there aren't enough?" she ventured.

"Always room for one more," he supplied.

"Just as long as it's not in your space," she retorted and they both laughed again. Changing the subject, she asked, "Think we'll be done in an hour or so? I promised Rossi lunch today and I also have to be back to go to the costumers with Emily and—" she paused, 'with Emily later."

He looked at her pointedly for a moment wondering why the pause and then let that thought go and replied, "It won't take long."

Minutes later, they pulled into the mansion's parking lot and the two agents set about transforming the main ballroom into a Halloween nightmare.

Full-length black cloth was pinned up along the entranceway creating a cave-like space. Suspended from the similarly blackened ceiling were several dozen small paper bats. Reid used clear threads and push pins and hung them at varying heights. He surveyed the completed bat cave and satisfied with the effect, climbed down from the stepladder. Lewis came around the corner from the main ballroom and let out a small gasp as she found herself eye to eye with one of the bats.

"Ugh. But nice," she commented as Reid laughed.

"Come, see," she took his arm and led the way through the bat cave towards the main ballroom.

'Oh! Nicely done!" he complimented her as his eyes took in the sight. Fake tombstones lined the wall by the windows, which had been covered with dark paper. His earlier nemesis, the skeleton, and several of its counterparts hung menacingly by the graveyard. Ghosts fluttered freely from several vantage points. The half dozen pumpkins that Reid had carved earlier were set along one side, lighting the way to the refreshments table. A black tablecloth and piping covered the table. A string of tiny pumpkin lights hung around the perimeter of the table. In the centre, a black cauldron served as a punch bowl. Another cauldron sat on the floor beside the table and Reid could see it was filled with Halloween candy.

"It's for the kids," Lewis explained and slapped his hand when he reached in to pick one.

"The room looks great, Tara. Thanks for your help," he assured her.

"Rossi's looking after the adult food and drink. The punch bowl is just soda water with a ton of grenadine syrup in it. Does it look bloody enough to you?"

"Henry will love it," Reid smiled as he scooped a ladleful of the red liquid and inspected it before pouring it back into the cauldron. They spent another hour putting the finishing touches on Devon House and then Tara and Spencer each took a breath and stood back to admire their handiwork.

"Devon House is now Demon House," Tara announced and satisfied, the two returned to the car for the drive back to the BAU.

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Penelope opened the shop door, holding it open as Samantha stepped inside next to her. The beaded curtain that partitioned off the back part of the store rustled as the proprietor, Penelope's friend Desmond appeared.

"Madam Bouvier?" Samantha inquired.

"That's me," the medium acknowledged, as Penelope approached and the two exchanged friendly air kisses. "Madam Bouvier, Desmond to my friends."

"Penelope tells me that the three of you are going to be _MacBeth's _witches."

Samantha nodded. "I appreciate you helping us out like this so close to Halloween," she began.

"I have those witch costumes right here, Penelope," Madam Bouvier told then, indicating three packages on the table.

Garcia bubbled, "Oh, thank you. I'll be back later with Emily and Tara to fit theirs."

Samantha tried on her costume and Desmond was a flurry of activity pinning here and there to make the necessary alterations. Finally, Samantha removed the black robes and waited as Desmond disappeared behind the beaded curtain.

"The other costume?" Samantha whispered to Penelope.

"Coming, Sam. I told Desmond what else you needed."

Minutes later, Desmond reappeared holding two garment bags and a smaller bag.

"Make-up," Madam Bouvier explained, "I think the lighter base would be better for Samantha here, and it'll require less work when you make your change. Here," Desmond handed Samantha one of the garment bags. "Try that on, it's your adult party costume Penelope requested."

As Samantha tried on the second costume, Desmond finished the alterations to the witch's robe, making the waist narrower and hemming the bottom. Penelope chattered animatedly as the medium worked. Once Samantha was dressed, Desmond pinned the necessary alterations in place and beckoned her to remove the dress. While he sewed, Desmond showered the two women with instructions for their makeup. Finally, the costume was ready and Desmond carefully put it back into its garment bag.

"I'll be right back," he said as he disappeared through the curtain again, returning almost immediately with two more garment bags and a large hatbox.

"Yours is all in there, Penelope," he smiled. "I'll see you later with my girls Tara and Emily?"

Penelope nodded; they thanked him profusely and left with the costumes.

"Do you need to go back to the university today?" Penelope asked as she pulled Esther, her car, out of the parking spot towards the exit.

"Nope, done for the day," Samantha told her. "Can I take you out for lunch somewhere, Pen?"

"That would be delightful." She turned in the direction of her favourite bistro.

As they ate their soup and sandwiches, Penelope told Samantha, "I'll take your second costume home with me and bring it to the party. You know, to preserve secrecy," she added conspiratorially.

They shared a laugh as they finished their meal and finalised arrangements for the party.

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	4. Chapter 4

Halloween morning, Emily woke up with a headache. Gulping back a few aspirin, she forced herself through her morning routine: showering, getting dressed, hair and makeup. She stopped at her favourite coffee shop and picked up a box of doughnuts, a soy latté and eight coffees then completed the drive to the BAU offices.

Pulling up to the security gate, she was both pleased and disappointed to see Frank Thompson back on duty.

"Good morning Frank, but dammit, why didn't you at least take a day off after what you went through yesterday?!"

"Good morning to you too, Agent Prentiss. And please, I'm fine."

"You're sure you're okay?" she wanted verification and he nodded emphatically.

"Gonna hafta be more than just a knock on the head to keep me out of the lineup for any length of time. I have people to look out for and a building to watch."

Emily handed him one of the eight coffees she'd bought and the required amount of creams and sugars Frank needed.

"Well, thank you, ma'am," he spluttered, surprised and delighted by her thoughtfulness.

"You're welcome, Frank, but I have to admit, this was Penelope Garcia's doing. I just did what I was told."

They both laughed as he waved her through.

Moments later, the BAU Unit Chief entered the bullpen and beckoned everyone to gather around JJ's desk. She handed out the coffees, gave Garcia her soy latté and put the box of doughnuts in Spencer's outstretched hands. "You're in charge of those," she told him.

"Chocolate sprinkles?" he asked hopefully as he opened the box.

"As if she'd forget," Rossi intoned, "Oh ye of little faith."

"We've got paperwork to do today, folks. And that's all," Emily told them. "Garcia?"

The tech analyst dropped a huge pile of files on JJ's desk and told them there was another similar pile waiting for them in the conference room. Tapping Alvez to accompany her, Garcia made her way to their roundtable room to collect the second pile of reports. They returned as Emily was addressing the team.

"I don't think anyone needs to be here much past around 2," Emily told them. "I have two meetings, I'll see you all around lunchtime I guess?" she said as she left to attend her first meeting.

The elevator door closed behind her and the remaining team members each took possession of some folders and got to work.

Garcia left them to it and made her way back to her office. She secured the door behind her and sat down. After checking her email on her computer, she printed out one of them and secured it in her purse and then took out one of her phones and proceeded to text Samantha.

_Team working on reports. Em meeting. On your way?_

_10-4 PG _came the reply moments later.

_Need me 2 pick u up?_

_No, I'm good. thx…secret still good?_

_Brainiac continues 2 B unaware : ) _

_You're the best!_

Just after twelve noon the phone on Anderson's desk rang. He picked it up, listened to his caller and replied affirmatively then hung up. Rossi watched as Anderson got on the elevator and then he hurried over to the BAU's kitchenette. He returned to JJ's desk, laden with plates and napkins just as the elevator door opened and Anderson stepped off carrying four pizza boxes.

"Lunch is here," Rossi told them as JJ made room on the desk for Anderson to set down the boxes. "Join us, Grant," Rossi invited.

An hour later, with the reports all done, Simmons, Rossi, Alvez and Jareau left to go home and prepare for the party. As Lewis cleaned up the post-pizza garbage, Garcia took Reid by the arm and up to her office. She handed him a garment bag.

"I'll be back in a couple minutes, get your costume on and then we will begin the transformation," she told him.

She took four other garment bags that were draped over a chair and closing the door behind her, hurried to Emily's office. Three garment bags were laid on Emily's couch and then Garcia made her way to the elevator. After stashing the fourth bag in Esther's trunk, she hurried back up to the sixth floor.

Tara was sitting at her desk, just finishing a call and looked up as the elevator door opened.

"Oh!" Penelope hurried over. "Your costumes, yours and Emily's I mean, are in her office. And the makeup. Sam's on her way, I've got Reid in my office. I'll keep him there until you guys are ready."

Tara rose from her seat, waving her phone, "Emily's on her way up too. Meeting's done."

Garcia hurried back to her office and called through the door, "You dressed?"

Hearing his affirmative, she opened the door and locked it behind her. He was wearing the costume, just putting on mismatched Halloween themed socks and Garcia murmured appreciatively, "Oh, it's wonderful! Desmond did a great job!"

"Sure did," Reid agreed.

"Okay, sit here," Garcia moved her chair away from the computer monitors and set one of her lamps up on its top. She pulled another chair up beside it and indicated Reid should sit in it and then she pulled out the extensive makeup kit Desmond had packed for them.

"Let the transformation begin," she said, as she applied foundation to his entire face.

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"Mom, you guys look great!" Henry enthused as JJ, Will and Michael emerged from the bedroom. All three were dressed up in furry bear costumes: Michael, as Baby Bear, was wearing tiny denim overalls and carried a toy car. JJ's Mama Bear included a pink t-shirt and frilly apron. Will as Papa Bear sported a dark fedora and had a cigar hanging between his lips.

"Y'look great, chère," Will drawled. She rolled her eyes and turned her attention to her sons. "Let me fix this, Michael." The hood of his outfit kept sliding back off his forehead and JJ quickly remedied the recalcitrant costume with some double-sided tape.

"Henry, you look very Super Hero-y," she remarked when her firstborn came into the room.

Her older son beamed as he looked up through his _Iron Man _mask at his mother. "Do you think Uncle Spence will be disappointed that I didn't dress up as him this year?"

"Oh," JJ bent down to her son's level and hugged him, "Henry, I don't think so. You've trick or treated as Spence for the last seven years, I'm sure he'll be fine with you going as someone else this year."

Henry thought about this for a moment. "But he's a real life Super Hero. Mom, is it too late to get my Uncle Spencer outfit on?"

JJ and Will exchanged a look and after a moment, Will picked Michael up and motioned to JJ, "Go help him, I got this one."

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Kristy Simmons tied the orange mask onto the last of her four little _Ninja Turtles_ and lined them up in their front hallway to take some photos.

"I still can't remember which is which!" she laughed. Her eldest child, son Jake repeated their roster, "I'm Leonardo, the leader." He paused and pointed to his younger brother, David, "He's Donatello and the twins are Raphael and Michelangelo."

"I wanted to be the purple one," Chloe complained.

"I wanted to be the pink one," Lily spoke up.

"There is no pink one," Jake rolled his eyes as he corrected his sister.

"That's why we made you Michelangelo, Lily. It's the closest to pink."

"Next year, can we be _Mighty Morphin Power Rangers_?" she whined.

"Can we _please_ just take the picture?" David interrupted, anxious to get to the party.

Matt Simmons came down the stairs, holding his mask in his hands as he hustled the little girls into the line to speed the process of photo taking.

"We should totally get a picture with all of us," Kristy pointed out.

"We'll get someone to do that at the party," he promised her. "Is everybody ready?"

There was a general hubbub of positive replies and Simmons corralled the children and hustled them out to Kristy's van.

"Do you know how ridiculous I feel wearing a yellow jumpsuit?" Kristy muttered as she climbed into the driver's seat.

Matt laughed, "You're an adorable April the reporter. And I'm happy. I get to be the bad guy for a change."

As they drove towards the Devon House, the children chattered excitedly about the party. Jake leaned forward and told his parents, "Dad makes an awesome Shredder. Put the mask on though, Dad."

"Not until we get there," Simmons told him. "Don't wanna scare anyone."

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"Oh my god, you look fantastic, Spencer," Penelope enthused as she put the last of the makeup containers back into the kit. "Or should I be calling you Victor now?"

She sat back to admire her handiwork for a moment, then reached for a mirror.

"Look!"

Reid looked in the mirror and a broad smile stretched across his face.

"It's perfect, Pen. Thank you!"

"Don't smile so big, Boy Wonder, you'll ruin the makeup!" She laughed, "Oh, don't worry, I'll take this all with us in case I have to make repairs to your face. Or anyone else's. Dammit! Your shoes. I forgot your shoes. I'll be back in a few minutes, stay here."


	5. Chapter 5

He nodded and promised her he'd wait in place. "I, uh, wanna call my mom and see how she's doing today," he told her as she grabbed a garment bag from the hook on the back of the door and left the office.

Carrying her makeup kit in her other hand, she hurried as fast as she could over to Emily's office. She knocked on the door and Prentiss opened it a crack, confirmed it was just Garcia and opened the door to admit her.

Three witches stood before Penelope, all dressed in black robes. Garcia put the garment bag down on the sofa, opened it and removed Reid's costume shoes from it. Setting the makeup kit down on Emily's desk, she got to work.

"Desmond showed me how to put the warts on," she explained, handing Emily and Tara each a tiny vial of adhesive. She directed the three witches to apply moisturiser to their faces. Demonstrating on Samantha's face, Penelope showed her two colleagues how to apply the adhesive and attach a fake wart to their noses.

Despite the laughter, the three witches managed to get their makeup on in just a few minutes, helping each other make the transformation. After the makeup was done, each donned the black pointed hat with trailing miscreant hair. Finally, they pulled on wart-covered gloves that made their fingers appear crooked. Emily practiced her cackle and they all broke into more bouts of laughter. Happily, Samantha was virtually unrecognizable and thanked Penelope profusely.

"This is fantastic!" she beamed.

"Okay, I just gotta get my own costume on," Garcia told them. She quickly pulled on the light blue dress with the white bodice from the garment bag. Her own shoes were swapped out for the bulky black-buckled saddle shoes and finally, a blonde wig with enormous curls drawn into two pigtails and two blue ribbons was affixed on her head.

"Goldilocks!" Tara laughed.

"I am!" Garcia explained, "I'm part of the LaMontagne family group, I promised JJ. Goldilocks and the Three Bears. While the kids are still up."

She shared a conspiratorial look with Samantha and then elaborated, "After the kids have gone to bed, some of us have um, uh, a secondary costume ready." Tara and Emily raised eyebrows and Penelope addressed Sam, "They're in my trunk, secured there earlier so you-know-who wouldn't see you-know-what."

"Okay, I guess we're all ready to go, we'll meet you and Reid there, Pen?" Emily asked.

"Roger that," Penelope agreed. "Gimme a couple minutes to get back to my office and hold him there while you guys leave."

"Is he ready?" Samantha asked.

"He is, and he looks adorably creepy." Garcia took the shoes from the sofa, shut the door behind her and hurried back to her office.

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"It's all set, boss. I'm just putting in the last few, um, touches," the man promised as he put away his phone. He approached the long driveway to the Devon House after secreting his car in the woods just up the road from the mansion. Adjusting his backpack, he walked through the open gate and paused to survey the property.

The catering trucks were already parked in front of the mansion and banquet employees were busy hurrying in and out with trays and dishes and he smiled, "That'll make it easier for me."

He stood by a skeleton figure hanging by the gate and waited until all the employees were in the house then he made his way up to the house and entered. Once inside, he walked through the front hall area, silently admiring the bat cave effect before he slipped up the grand foyer staircase to the second level. He set down the backpack and got to work.

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"You look fabulous, Anna Maria," Rossi teased as Krystall fussed with the fluffy brown wig of her costume.

"You said we were supposed to go as favourite fictional or fairy tale characters," she complained good-naturedly. "I don't even watch _The Simpsons_."

"Ah, but we're a pair. Alvez said I sound so much like Fat Tony, I just had to check that out," Rossi reasoned. "And I do. So here we are. You don't sound like her, but you don't have to. You _look _perfect!"

"A mobster's wife," she shook her head laughing. "David Rossi. The things I do for you."

"You better believe it," he smiled and watched as she fussed with her wig a little more until she was satisfied. As she attached the oversize hoop earrings to her lobes, Rossi came up behind her and put his arms around her. He affected the mobster's voice and told her "Listen to your heart."

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Garcia heard him chuckle as he concluded a phone call, "I'm not the—" he let the words trail off. Hearing Garcia's entrance, he gave the phone a curious look before clicking it off and shoving it into a pocket.

She shut the office door behind her and held out the deep brown lace-up shoes to Reid. "The shoes, the shoes! I left them in Esther by accident this morning."

He took them from her, removed his _Converse _sneakers and laced on the costume's shoes. From her enormous purse, Garcia retrieved one of her phones and took several pictures of Reid in his Victor Frankenstein guise. She tapped a few keys on the phone and smiled. "Done," she told him.

Garcia fussed over his face for a moment, feigning unnecessary repairs to his makeup intended to delay their departure and give the Weird Sisters time to get to Emily's car.

Finally, after about ten minutes of subterfuge, Garcia pronounced his face perfect and they rode the elevator down to the parking level. They both took the time to check their cellphones and reply to texts they'd each received.

Minutes earlier, eyebrows rose throughout the sixth level as three identically clad witches emerged from the office of the BAU chief, Emily Prentiss. All three, dressed in the familiar black robes of traditional witch lore, with the pointed hats, black buckled shoes and long, loose black hair. Each carried a broom and as they passed by the other agents in the office, practiced their cackles.

Several people hurriedly took out cellphones to take pictures as Emily, Tara and Samantha walked by and they paused several times to pose appropriately for the photos.

Once in the parking garage, Tara made a quick detour to her car to pick up a bag she'd forgotten earlier, and then the trio climbed into Emily's SUV for the trip to Devon House.

"I figure this'll be faster than flying on our brooms," Emily laughed as the car approached the gatehouse. Frank was on duty, dressed as a doctor in surgical greens and he laughed when he saw them.

"I know, I know, I'm finally the witch everyone says I am," Prentiss joked.

"It's not a particularly attractive look, Agent Prentiss, but you've always been bewitching," he said with a twinkle in his eye. Meeting Tara's eyes, he grew serious for a moment and waved at her as he spoke, "Thank you again for rescuing me yesterday."

"I'm just glad you're okay, _Doctor _ Frank," Tara smiled back.

He wished them all a Happy Halloween, waved them through, and then turned his attention back to his work.

Ten minutes later, he was once again admiring BAU member costumes, thanking a rescuer and wishing a Happy Halloween; this time, Garcia's Goldilocks and Reid's Victor Frankenstein.

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The man finished in the upstairs hallway and went about setting up in the smaller of the bedrooms. In just a few minutes, he was done in that room and moved to the next, quickly putting everything in place. Back out in the upper mezzanine hallway, he adjusted a few mirrors and hurried to secure power cords to the floor with gaffer tape. Once that was complete, he laid the rugs back in place and bemoaned the fact that he wouldn't be able to test his work before setting it in motion.

Ducking into the upstairs bathroom, he sent a text informing his client that the operation was a go and everything was arranged.

He watched and waited at the top of the stairs until there was no one in the main room below and then hurried down the stairs and made his way to the kitchen so he could exit through the back unseen.

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	6. Chapter 6

A white van pulled into a parking spot at the Devon House. The driver alighted. A woman wearing an all-white uniform slid open the centre door and reached into the van. From the passenger side, a large brown dog stepped out of the vehicle and ran around to the driver's side. The woman, now holding a leash, a large net and a small cage she'd retrieved from the middle seat, shut the van door.

She broke out laughing. "I might as well get into character." Reaching over, she scritched behind one of the dog's long floppy ears and said, "Down, Luke. Down boy!"

The dog rose from all fours to stand on just his hind legs. He started to laugh and pushed the hood back off his head, revealing the smiling face of Luke Alvez.

"If every dog catcher looked like you, dogs wouldn't mind being caught!"

"Oh I doubt that, but thank you," she retorted. Holding up the leash, she asked, "Do I need to put this on you?"

His mouth dropped open, he started to say something and then changed his mind.

"Woof!" said Matt Simmons as he greeted the new arrivals. As the Simmons clan clustered around the dogcatcher and her canine prisoner, a black limousine drove up and parked alongside the group.

Fat Tony and Anna Maria alighted from the luxury vehicle and the other team members laughed. Rossi was carrying a covered dish and searched through the assembled group. "Reid's not here yet?" he asked.

"Nah, I think he's coming with the ladies," Simmons told him. "What's that?" he asked, indicating Rossi's package.

"Just a little something to go along with my character."

Simmons eyes lit up and widened. "Oh, please tell me that's—"

"Leave the gun. Take the cannoli," Rossi said deadpan, holding the dish out to Simmons.

"Oh man, you _know _ how I love those!" Simmons exclaimed, taking the dish from the older man. "Why don't you make the rounds, introduce Anna Maria to uh, the dogcatcher, over there and I'll take these in to the catering table."

Rossi laughed then in a low voice said, "Why don't you just put those in the van for yourself?"

Simmons grinned. "I'm tempted, _Tony_, but I just can't." Patting Rossi's shoulder, he turned and made his way inside with the cannoli. As Fat Tony and Anna Maria entered the house, the SUV belonging to Jennifer Jareau drove up.

The Ninja Turtles ran up to the car and waited as the LaMontagnes disembarked. Raphael, Michelangelo, Donatello and Leonardo squealed as Baby Bear and Mini Spencer Reid joined them.

"You guys look great!" Henry exclaimed as he took his little brother's hand. "Michael's Baby Bear from Goldilocks. But Goldilocks isn't here yet," he explained to the Simmons children.

"You guys look great too!" Kristy-as-April replied. She turned to Mama and Papa Bear and the three adults exchanged greetings as the Turtles fell into step with Baby Bear and his minder.

Leonardo asked, "Who are you supposed to be?"

"I'm my favourite super hero," Henry replied. The turtles conferred amongst themselves and finally Donatello spoke, "We give up. You're not Superman or Spiderman or Ironman."

"I'm better than all those," Henry declared, "I'm Dr. Spencer Reid."

"Oh wow," Leonardo reacted, making the connection. "That's a really good costume!"

Henry hiked up his pant legs and all four of the turtles laughed.

"You even 'membered the dismatched socks!" Michelangelo giggled.

The children made their way to the porch where Luke, Lisa, Kristy, Matt, JJ and Will were waiting. At that moment, several more vehicles bearing party guests arrived. Joining the festivities were Goldilocks, Victor Frankenstein, Super Mario and Princess Peach as well as a host of other bureau employees in the guise of various game and cartoon characters.

"Hey Garcia, you look," Alvez paused significantly and then in a teasing tone said "_Innocent."_

"Newbie! I am Goldilocks, keeper of the Three Bears. And you are?"

"A dog," he replied. "One not as smart as Roxy apparently as I managed to get caught," he chuckled as Lisa playfully brought the net down over his head.

"Woof!" said Garcia as they all laughed.

"Lisa, this is Penelope Garcia, also known tonight as Goldilocks." He made introductions, "Spencer Victor Frankenstein Reid, Matt the Shredder Simmons, his wife Kristy and their turtles," he gestured towards their children. "JJ and Will also known as Mama and Papa Bear, their sons Michael," he paused to indicate Baby Bear, and starring as Mini Spencer Reid, their older boy Henry. And wow, you guys have gone all out. You all look terrific!"

As Lisa acknowledged all her new friends, Super Mario and Princess Peach showed up at the back of the little crowd.

"Rossi and Krystall are inside. Oh! And Super Mario there is none other than our own agent-clerk-extraordinaire Grant Anderson and Princess Peach is," Luke faltered as he didn't know Grant's companion's name.

"Julie," they supplied in unison. The group parted to allow some of the other bureau employees to enter the ballroom and then came together once again, lingering as they greeted each other. Finally Michael loudly asked, "Can we go see the haunted house now?"

"Well, Emily and Tara—and Samantha—" JJ realised, "Aren't here yet."

As she spoke, a cacophony of witches' cackles sounded from the driveway and the three Weird Sisters arrived on their brooms.

Once again Luke made introductions and Prentiss interrupted him to make her own joke. "And I am the boss witch he speaks of."

"She—You are not!" Alvez sputtered as they all laughed.

"Relax, I'm kidding," Emily teased. They followed the other guests into Devon House and heard the squeals of fright from the two little Simmons girls at the sight of bats flitting about.

"Ugh! They are creepy!" Kristy agreed as she knelt down to reassure her daughters that the bats weren't real. The other children appreciated the gravestones and skeletons and Michael stopped to investigate when he found a black cat. He wanted to pick it up but the bear paws of his costume made that impossible and his brother helped by showing him that the cat was just a stuffed decoration. They continued on, Henry reading aloud the funny grave markers and eventually made their way to the main ballroom. The others followed.

"Wow!" Donatello exclaimed.

"Oh, double wow!" Leonardo added and rushed forward to the refreshments table. "Look! It's _blood!" _He pointed out the punch bowl to his little sisters Michelangelo and Raphael and as they reacted, their mother intervened.

"David! Stop scaring the girls!"

"Look!" Raphael noticed the cauldron full of candy, the momentary disgust of 'blood-punch' already forgotten.

Behind them, Spencer Reid—the real one—took his cell phone out of his costume pocket, looked at it for just a moment and then began punching keys. The Weird Sisters appeared at his side and he paused to look up at them. Making eye contact with first Tara, then Emily and finally Samantha, he broke into a laugh when it registered in his mind that he was looking at his own girlfriend. He waved the phone and shoved it back into his pocket.

"I was just texting you to see where you were!"

She let out a tremendous cackle and said in a wickedly witchy voice "I'm here."

"She's got that cackle down pat, doesn't she?" Tara laughed.

"I'd say so," Emily cackled back.

"You ladies are scary awesome," Reid told them. He took Sam's hand and stepped away as Emily mingled with the other partygoers and Tara knelt down next to the Simmons girls.

"It's just soda and way too much grenadine," Tara reassured them of the punch bowl contents. "Look over here. The witch's cauldron is full of candy for you little goblins."

"We're turtles!" Michelangelo corrected her.

"_Ninja _Turtles!" Raphael emphasised.

Laughing, Tara told them to enjoy the party and not be truly scared because everything was make-believe. Tara and Kristy ladled servings of the special punch into paper cups and passed them out to the children. The kids descended on the cauldron to see about helping themselves to candy.

Tara told Kristy, "I reined him in," gesturing at Reid. "Put my foot down about fake eyeballs in the punch bowl."

"Thank you."

"While the kids are up, anyway. I make no promises for after they've gone over to the carriage house."

They laughed together and rejoined the others, most of whom were now gathered in the centre of the Devon House main ballroom. The bar for the adults was set up in the alcove beneath the mezzanine of the grand staircase and Tara and Kristy joined the other BAU members congregated there. Still holding Sam's hand, Spencer led their way through the group, admiring the many costumes and thanking people for helping celebrate his favourite holiday. He paused when he reached the LaMontagne family, standing with Penelope Garcia.

"I trust the porridge wasn't too hot, the bed wasn't too soft?" he teased and he ruffled Michael's bear head.

"I'm Baby Bear!"

"And a fierce good bear you are, too."

Turning his attention to Henry, he laughed. "And who are you supposed to be?" he asked with a twinkle in his eye.

"I'm my favourite Super Hero, Uncle Spence. Don't you recognise yourself?"

Spencer knelt to Henry's height and slipped one arm around each of the LaMontagne boys. JJ immediately whipped out her cellphone to take photos. Will took out his own cell and consulted it; whispered to JJ and then excused himself from the group as he headed to the Devon House front door.

"Oh my goodness," Samantha enthused, touched by the closeness between Spencer and his godsons.

"Aw, thank you Henry. Did you practice the magic trick I taught you?"

Henry nodded, "I'll show you later!"

Reid squeezed Henry's shoulder and told him "I'll look forward to that!"

Rising back to his full height, he retook Sam's hand with one of his and put the other in his pocket and continued his foray through the party invitees. When they reached the front of the group, at the bottom of the immense staircase that led upstairs, the house lights went dark and an eerie disembodied scream sounded through the ballroom.

The assembled group fell silent as the scream continued; its volume rose and the source seemed to be getting closer and closer.

The smaller children scurried closer to their parents as the scream grew louder and suddenly went silent.


	7. Chapter 7

The assembled group fell silent as the scream continued; its volume rose and the source seemed to be getting closer and closer.

The smaller children scurried closer to their parents as the scream grew louder and suddenly went silent.

High above the party came the sound of chains rattling. A door creaked open. Samantha gasped audibly as the creaking continued and a low moan emanated from the upper floor.

A small point of light appeared at the top of the staircase. It hovered for a long moment as the moaning continued and then the light grew larger and took shape. The ghostly apparition swooped down the stairs as the moaning reached a crescendo and just as quickly fell silent.

Immediately, a second and third apparition followed the first, flying along about ten feet above the party and down the hallway towards the front door where they all abruptly disappeared. The paper bats swayed in the resulting breeze and the partygoers all reacted in awe.

"Oh _cool!" _ Donatello and Leonardo exclaimed in unison.

Several of the smaller children—as well as Samantha and some of the other adults—covered their faces as they reacted.

Everything went dark, followed immediately by a series of creaking sounds. Several partygoers gasped in surprise and intermittent flashes of light flickered on and off. Finally, the ballroom was illuminated in a very dim light. Devon House's once ornate and majestic grand staircase appeared to have transformed into a creaky broken down set of rickety stairs. Cobwebs graced the space between the spindles of the staircase and Samantha grimaced as a spider crept along the bottom rail just above her head.

The door of the centre bedroom upstairs creaked open. A pale white hand appeared at its edge and the moaning began again. The fingers on the hand waved slowly, as if beckoning someone and the ghostly apparitions that had swept past the group returned, swooping back up the stairs and into the room. The door slammed shut.

Almost immediately, the door to the room on the left opened and a series of small Jack O'Lanterns floated out into the upstairs hallway. Eerie music played as the pumpkins danced across the top of the railing along the mezzanine. As the pumpkins flitted along, the centre door opened again and the pale hand reappeared. It waved, this time beckoning someone from the group of partygoers.

"Reeeeeeeeeeeeeid" a voice wailed from behind the door. "Reeeeeid, help me, Reeeeeeeid."

The glinting Jack O'Lanterns were now descending the stairs along the top rail. At the bottom of the stairs, Spencer let go of Samantha's hand and moved to climb the stairs.

"Spencer! Don't!" she called after him as he ascended the staircase and disappeared into the centre room. She stood frozen, unsure whether to follow him or not and the decision was out of her hands when Emily took her arm.

"Don't," Emily told her, acting on a hunch. The partygoers stood with rapt attention as they waited.

"Momma, what's going on?" the youngest Simmons child was holding her mother's hand but seemed more curious than frightened, much to the relief of Kristy.

"I think it's just a Halloween trick," she replied. "You aren't scared are you, honey?"

"Just a little bit," Lily confessed, not wanting to be labeled a scaredy-cat by her siblings. The dancing Jack O'Lanterns enthralled her twin, and seeing Chloe's apparent lack of concern regarding the frightening sights and sounds, Lily let go of Kristy's hand and joined her sister, now sitting at the bottom of the stairs watching the magical pumpkins.

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Will LaMontagne opened the front door of Demon House, and ushered in two young women.

"Ya didn't have any trouble findin' th' place I hope?" he asked.

The trio made their way to the front of the ballroom, both of the women admiring the decorations as they walked.

"Sitters are here," Will explained as the two girls corralled the Simmons and LaMontagne children.

"We're all going to go over to the carriage house and watch Halloween cartoons," one of the girls told the children. Tara Lewis stepped up to the group.

"Take the cauldron of candy and that bowl of punch with you, it's for the kids," she told them.

"Thanks!" Donatello and Leonardo chimed and helped carry the items to the carriage house. The outbuilding was situated at the far end of the Devon House parking lot, only a hundred yards away from the main house. JJ and Will had earlier secured their usual babysitter and a friend to oversee a more child friendly version of Halloween. Reid had arranged for them to entertain in the carriage house and several cots had been set up in case anyone grew sleepy.

As the children left, the line of Jack O'Lanterns winked out of sight and was replaced by menacing looking skeletons and ghosts. Garcia approached the Weird Sisters, clustered together at the foot of the stairs.

Emily viewed the proceedings with a suspicious eye as Tara slid beside her.

"You and Spence did a fantastic job of decorating this place," Emily told her.

"This wasn't part of what we did, Em," Tara replied. Beside them, the third member of the Weird Sisters shuddered involuntarily, causing Tara to ask, "What's up, Samantha?"

"This is all so creepy. I mean I knew Spence was a fan of Halloween and all things eerie, but how'd that staircase turn from the architectural marvel it was to something out of a Scooby Doo cartoon?"

Emily pursed her lips to suppress a laugh. Tara caught the action. "Emily?" she asked.

Before Prentiss could reply, the door to the centre room opened and an enormous rush of wind swept over the assembled party. Several figures in long black cloaks soared overhead, dangling another between them.


	8. Chapter 8

"Oh my god!" Samantha was horrified. The dangling form was clad in the same Victor Frankenstein outfit as Spencer. But the figure being supported by the black-cloaked beings was headless. "Oh no, oh—" she exclaimed and stopped short as she came to the same realisation that had already occurred to Emily Prentiss.

Tentatively, Samantha reached out to touch the headless Dr. Frankenstein and clutched air. She breathed a sigh of relief but was simultaneously conflicted about being miffed as well.

"It's—"

"A projection," Emily supplied. "Look," she pointed to several tiny lights emitting from strategic spots along the ceiling and floor. "Laser projectors."

Samantha took several deep breaths to calm herself and sputtered, "I am going to kill him."

Tara rubbed her back and replied, "Oh don't do that."

Samantha breathed normally again and relented, "Okay, I won't kill him. But I am gonna—"

"Get even," Tara supplied. Emily laughed. Samantha's eyes glinted at the suggestion.

"I think I like that idea!"

"This took a lot of work, a lot of planning. And some well placed help," Emily made a deduction and turned to Garcia. "You had a hand in this, didn't you?"

There was a long silence before Penelope scrunched up her face and confessed, "I might have made a few strategic phone calls and texts to other computer wizards and technically inclined folks I know, yes."

"Penelope Garcia!" Samantha said emphatically, her admonishing tone tempered by Garcia's next words.

"But I know just how you can get even with him," Penelope informed her. "Excuse us, ladies," she directed at Emily and Tara and taking Sam's arm, lowered her voice. "Do it, and then let's go get our other costumes on."

At that moment, Spencer reappeared at the top of the stairs. The projections were all still in place and as soon as Samantha noticed Reid coming down the stairs, she threw herself to the floor and cried piteously over the headless version which hovered only inches away from her.

"Oh god, Spencer. Spencer, what happened?" She sobbed as she reached for but intentionally didn't come into contact with the headless projection.

His pace doubled as he hurried down the stairs to reassure her, one hand on the handrail, the other in his pocket.

"Sam! Samantha, it's not real."

She pretended not to hear and continued her sobbing. Emily and Tara made sure none of the other partygoers intervened as Reid arrived at Sam's side. He knelt down beside her and drew an arm around her. The headless version of him winked out of view.

"It's not real, Sam, I'm here, I'm okay," he soothed.

She hiccupped and gulped and caught her breath then raised her face to make eye contact. As their eyes met, he tried to read her face and was startled to see … was that anger?

"Sam?"

She rose to her feet, brushed his arm away and snarled, "Don't touch me!" Stalking away, she grabbed Garcia's arm and stormed past them to the door that lead to the restrooms at the back of Devon House, dragging Penelope along.

Spencer's face fell as they left the ballroom. He turned to Emily and chewed his lower lip. "What have I done?"

"She's just mad, Spence. Give her a minute to cool down," she advised him.

He was breathing heavily, "I've really done it this time." Shaking his head, he lamented, "We've pulled little pranks on each other before, I didn't think she'd take this seriously for a second, Emily. What am I gonna do?"

Tara and Emily exchanged a glance and then Emily reached out and put her hand on his arm. "I'm sure she's just catching her breath. I mean, that had to give her a bit of a scare, thinking you'd lost your head."

"I think maybe I did," he said regretfully. "Lose my head, I mean. The last thing I wanna do to the woman I love is scare her so bad she's mad at me."

"She'll get over it in a minute, Spencer, just wait her out," Tara comforted. "The party's great, by the way, everyone seems to be having a blast."

He gave her a tiny smile of appreciation, knowing she was trying to distract him. Looking around, he saw that she wasn't just saying it. Everywhere around the room people were enjoying food and drink and expressing their impressions about the ghosts and ghouls.

"How long have you guys been together, Spencer?" Emily asked.

"Over six months now," he answered her. He rolled his lower lip in his teeth and added, "I haven't been this happy since," he paused as he realised, "_ever._ We haven't exactly talked about it, but I kinda thought this is it. She's the one."

Both Emily and Tara smiled as they said in unison, "You need to talk about it!"

He surprised them by nodding in agreement.

"It'll be okay, Spencer," Tara assured again as Matt, Kristy, JJ and Will approached them.

"Party's great, Reid," Simmons told him, "The kids loved all the decorations."

"And I'm sure they're eating their weight in candy now," Kristy said, with just a hint of dismay.

"Henry's apparently showing them all the magic tricks you've taught him, Spence," JJ added.

Will waved his empty glass. "Looks like I'm in need of a refill. Anyone else?" He took their orders and Matt laughed.

"I'll come with. You won't be able to carry them all."

Kristy stopped him. "I'll go." She followed Will over to the bar, leaving the five BAU members to converse.

"So, how about it, Spencer?" Emily prodded.

"I will ask her about it."

JJ's brow furrowed, asking the unspoken question. Reid waited for a moment, wondering if Tara or Emily would fill her and Simmons in. When neither spoke up, Reid sighed and explained, "I really scared Samantha tonight with that headless me."

JJ nodded, her look clearly telling him to explain further.

"It was all done by computer and laser projection. Garcia has some friends who set it all up for me." He pulled his iPhone from his pocket. "It was controlled by this." To show them, he touched a couple of keys and the flying black ghouls started up again, swooping back and forth high above all their heads. The headless Frankenstein did not reappear; instead a stream of skeletons shook their way along the upper mezzanine.

He looked from Simmons to JJ and then at Emily and Tara. Sighing heavily, he continued, "And I managed to somehow freak her out. And now she's mad at me. Which is the last thing I wanted to do."

"Spence, she was startled. Probably a little horrified. But she loves you and she knows you'd never do anything to intentionally hurt her."

"I hope you're right, JJ."

"I _know _I am."

Soothing words from his best friend in the FBI brought a faint smile to his lips.

"So, what are you supposed to ask her about?" JJ queried, with the look of someone who actually knew exactly what was supposed to be going down.

He took a deep breath and glanced at each of his teammates.

"If she comes back," he prefaced, "You'll see." His hand went into his pocket again.

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	9. Chapter 9

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"You weren't really _that _ scared, were you, Sam? Or that mad." Penelope inquired as she helped Samantha remove the witch makeup from her face.

"No. Yes. I don't know." She sighed. "He knows I startle easily. And I've been scared before. Little things, like a glow in the dark skeleton on the back of a door. But to see him headless like that," she paused, shuddering at the memory.

"I'm sure it wasn't his intent to frighten you like that."

"Oh, I _know _ it wasn't his intent, Pen. He really is absolutely sweet and thoughtful and compassionate. It's just a little strange because he is one to think things through, and I don't think he did that this time." She let out a chuckle and added, "I think he let Halloween override that part of him."

Sam finished dressing in her second costume and sat still as Penelope applied her makeup. Penelope had already made the switchover from Goldilocks to R-rated Cleopatra. Her eyes darkened with deep black eyeliner, Penelope had on a black wig, the white toga-like dress and blue cape of the ancient Egyptian. Her left arm bore the familiar asp bracelet associated with the character. She turned her attention now to transforming Samantha into the Bride of Frankenstein character.

"So we'll just let him stew for a few minutes. And?"

"We will let him stew, and then we will go back in there and I will let him know it's okay. I love him."

"And?"

"And what, Pen?"

"You'll live happily ever after?"

"I'm Bride of Frankenstein, Penelope. Not a fairy tale princess."

"I shall call you Viktoria." Garcia said as she finished with Samantha's makeup and started on her hair. "And you can still live happily ever after."

Nodding, Sam acquiesced. "Viktoria. Wasn't that the Corpse Bride's name?"

"Whatever. I'm calling you Viktoria." The sound of hair colour being spritzed silenced them both momentarily. Samantha's normally reddish brown hair now bore the character's familiar streaks of white along her temples.

"Don't touch! Let it dry!" Penelope told her. "We won't be much longer, hopefully Tara and Emily will keep Spencer busy."

"They're in on this?" Sam asked.

"Not really. But I might have conscripted them at the last minute to make sure he stays there and doesn't freak out."

"You're incorrigible."

"I am," Garcia agreed and then inspecting her handiwork, declared it dry and sprayed it with hair spray to hold it in place.

Finally, she proclaimed them ready to return to the party.

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The hallway door behind the ballroom opened and Cleopatra and Viktoria, Bride of Frankenstein emerged. As they passed the catering table, Penelope saw Matt Simmons enjoying another of Rossi's cannoli. The other BAU members and spouses were all gathered around sipping their drinks. Spencer was currently engaged in a deep conversation with Emily and JJ, Samantha noted.

She waited until he sensed her presence and turned around. He gasped when he recognised her and quickly stepped forward to take her hands in his.

"I'm so sorry, Samantha," he started, "I'm so—"

"Shhh," she whispered, leaning forward to kiss him. Surprised, it took him a second to respond and return the kiss and just as quickly she drew back. "It's okay, I'm not mad. I know you didn't mean to scare me."

"Still, I should know better—"

Once again she leaned into him to kiss him, interrupting his self-castigation. This time, he let go of her hands and pulled her into his arms, holding her firmly in place as they kissed. Breathless, they broke apart a long moment later, oblivious of the dozen pairs of eyes watching them.

"I love you Spencer, and I know you'd never hurt me intentionally," she lowered her voice for just his ears.

He stepped back, took her hand in his and beckoned her to accompany him. She followed as they climbed the stairs, holding hands. Samantha noticed his other hand was fidgeting in his pocket as they arrived at the far right door. He opened it and ushered her inside. Shutting the door behind them, he pulled his iPhone out of his pocket and touched a few keys.

The room, ordinarily a small dining room, was filled with pumpkins, maize cobs, and other fall décor. Pots of purple and white asters and arrangements of autumn coloured leaves dotted the perimeter of the room. In the centre of the room were a single small table and two chairs. Spencer led them to the table and pulled out one of the chairs to seat Samantha.

On the table stood a pair of white wine flutes and a bottle of Henkell Trocken. A smile drew across Samantha's face. This was her favourite white wine and Spencer knew it. She anticipated he was going to sit across from her and was surprised to find him on one knee in front of her.

"I think you know what's coming," he began, smiling when he saw her catch her breath and chew her bottom lip. "First of all. Again, I'm really sorry I scared you earlier. I'm glad and relieved you forgive me. And," he paused when he saw tears springing to her eyes. His hand went into his pocket again and withdrew a ring box.

"You just told me, again, that you love me. And for that I'm grateful beyond words. I love you too, Samantha and I'm," he broke as his own eyes threatened to spill over, "I'm asking you to be my wife, to share our lives, to grow old together. Will you marry me?"

She couldn't speak for a moment and he opened the ring box and added, "Maybe this will sway you?"

Her tears leaked out and she giggled. "Spence," she wiped at her eyes and reached for his hand. Nodding through her tears and sniffling, she accepted, "Yes, yes of course."

She admired the sapphire and diamonds as he slipped the ring on her finger and, leaning forward, wrapped her arms around him.

"You like it? I should've let you choose it." He spoke close to her ear.

She leaned back and shook her head no, "It's gorgeous. And I would've accepted a twist tie."

He laughed and told her, "Blue like your eyes, white like your pure heart."

"Happy Halloween, Spencer," she said as she leaned in to kiss him again. For a long moment, the world stopped as Spencer and Samantha shared a tender embrace. Finally, they pulled apart.

He rose to his feet, took her hand and assured her, "Best Halloween ever now."

Samantha rose from the chair, "Let's go back to the party."

"I'd rather have our own party, but yeah," he agreed as she slipped an arm around him and together they moved forward to rejoin the Halloween party and to start their lives together.

"_I love you and that's the beginning and end of everything"-_ **F. Scott Fitzgerald**

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